SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- When Cactus League Association President Robert Brinton comes out to the ballpark, he’s counting people.

“That’s what I count every day,” Brinton said. “That’s the first thing every morning, to see what the attendance is at all the parks."

On this day, for a Saturday contest in Scottsdale between the San Francisco Giants and the Colorado Rockies, the news is good. The stands are packed, and fans sit shoulder-to-shoulder on the outfield lawn.

“Sellout!” Brinton exclaimed. “This is the way spring training is supposed to be.”

So far this spring, though, the Saturday sellout is the exception, rather than the norm. Through Thursday, average game attendance was down at every stadium in Arizona.

While the average game attendance for a Cactus League game last year was 7,436 fans, the average this spring has been 4,700 people.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, for example, drew an average of 7,387 fans last year for each game at their spring training stadium in Tempe. Through five games this year, they had drawn only an average of 2,421 fans.

Brinton believes the decrease is partially due to the economy. He also points out, though, that attendance tends to increase deeper into spring training, as more of the team’s regular players play.

Because of that, Brinton remains hopeful that the attendance numbers will rebound.

“We know it’s not recession-proof, but it seems to be recession-resistant,” Brinton said.

There is also an oddity during this year’s spring training that may help cushion the economic blow to the Cactus League.

Because of the World Baseball Classic, spring training has been extended this year. So there will be more games played in 2009.

“This is really the Major League Baseball spring training stimulus package, that they’re going five weeks instead of the four we normally have,” Brinton said.

Brinton thinks that will allow the Cactus League to still break total attendance records this spring, even if the average game attendance falls.

According to Cactus League data, measuring attendance through Thursday, the Chicago Cubs have drawn the most fans this year. They have an average per-game attendance of 8,752 to their Mesa ballpark.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, spending their first spring training in their new spring home of Glendale, have also drawn well. In three spring training games, the Dodgers have drawn an average of 7,606 people.

Other big draws so far have included the Giants (6,465 fans per game to their Scottsdale stadium) and the Diamondbacks (6,156 fans per game in Tucson).